COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, November 3. THIRTY-six top U.S. swimmers, including 21 Olympians, will battle against a squad of European swimmers at the 2011 Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool in Atlanta, December 16-17. The competition will take place at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center and will be broadcast on NBC.
The event will star Olympic gold medalists Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.), Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo Calif.), Rebecca Soni (Plainsboro, N.J.), Brendan Hansen (Irvine, Calif.), Dana Vollmer (Granbury Texas) and Amanda Beard (Irvine, Calif.). The meet will also feature 2011 World Championship gold medalists Missy Franklin (Centennial, Colo.) and Elizabeth Beisel (Saunderstown, R.I) as well as Olympians Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich.) and Eric Shanteau (Lilburn, Ga.).
The U.S. roster is comprised of the fastest swimmers selected from four meets in 2011 – FINA World Championships, ConocoPhillips National Championships, World University Games and Pan American Games. Additional spots were filled through coach selection. The European All-Star team will be comprised of up to 22 men and 22 women, and has already seen commitments from World Championship swimmers from Great Britain, Netherlands, Poland, Belarus, Denmark, Austria and Lithuania.
The men's head coach for the Duel in the Pool will be SwimMAC head coach David Marsh while the women will be led by 2008 Women's Olympic Coach and University of Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle.
USA Swimming will add additional seats to the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center for the event but less than 3,000 seats are available for each day of the competition.
Over $100,000 of prize money will be awarded at the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool. Swimmers will be awarded cash prizes for wins with world records commanding up to $15,000 and gold medals commanding $1,500.
The bi-annual Duel in the Pool is a made-for-TV event, designed to showcase the sport's most exciting swimmers in a short course meters format. This is the fifth Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool in the history of USA Swimming. Past Duels were held in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009. Three of the events pitted all-star teams from the U.S. against Australia and the event in 2009 saw the first competition between the U.S. and the squad of European all-stars. The U.S. is 4-0 in the history of the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool.
Women
Amanda Beard Tucson Ford Dealers Aquatics
Eliot Dash
Elizabeth Beisel Bluefish Swim Club/Florida
Chuck Batchelor/Gregg Troy
Elaine Breeden Stanford Swimming
Lea Maurer
Natalie Coughlin California Aquatics
Teri McKeever
Claire Donahue Western Kentucky University
Bruce Marchionda
Missy Franklin Colorado Stars
Todd Schmitz
Katy Freeman Santa Barbara Aquatics Club
Gregg Wilson
Jessica Hardy Trojan Swim Club
David Salo
Kathleen Hersey Longhorn Aquatics
Eddie Reese
Katie Hoff FAST Swim Team
Jon Urbanchek
Dagny Knutson Gator Swim Club
Gregg Troy
Elizabeth Pelton Unattached/T2 Aquatics
Paul Yetter
Julia Smit Stanford Swimming
Lea Maurer
Rebecca Soni Trojan Swim Club
David Salo
Ashley Steenvoorden Minnesota Aquatics
Kelly Kremer
Chloe Sutton Mission Viejo Nadadores
Bill Rose
Dana Vollmer California Aquatics
Teri McKeever
Amanda Weir SwimAtlanta
Chris Davis
Kate Ziegler FAST Swim Team
Jon Urbanchek
Head Coach: Jack Bauerle
Assistant Coaches: Kim Brackin, Chris Davis, Lea Maurer
Men
Mike Alexandrov Trojan Swim Club
David Salo
Ricky Berens Trojan Swim Club
David Salo
Tyler Clary FAST Swim Team
Jon Urbanchek
Conor Dwyer Lake Forest/Gator Swim Club
Maureen Sheehan/Gregg Troy
Mark Gangloff New York Athletic Club
Brett Hawke
Matt Grevers Tucson Ford Dealers Aquatics
Rick DeMont
Jimmy Feigen Longhorn Aquatics
Eddie Reese
Brendan Hansen Longhorn Aquatics
Eddie Reese
Michael Klueh FAST Swim Team
Jon Urbanchek
Ryan Lochte Daytona Beach/Gator Swim Club
Steve Lochte/Gregg Troy
Tyler McGill Auburn Aquatics
Brett Hawke
Matt McLean FAST
Urbanchek
Davis Tarwater SwimMAC Carolina
David Marsh
Nick Thoman SwimMAC Carolina
David Marsh
Eric Shanteau Trojan Swim Club
David Salo
Peter Vanderkaay Gator Swim Club
Gregg Troy
Garrett Weber- Gale Longhorn Aquatics
Eddie Reese
Head Coach: David Marsh
Assistant Coaches: Mike Bottom, Ray Looze, Bill Wadley
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